Greatest Moment of His Life
by Basic Trainer
Summary: Ash is at the last obstacle that's between him and his dream of being a Pokémon Master. Will this be the greatest moment of his life or has it already happened?
1. Chapter 1

**Time for another Valentine One-Shot. This may be a little rushed cause I only remembered it was Valentines day a few days ago.**

**One a separate note, anyone who is following me might've noticed I put up a challenge the other day. I've had to take it down due to Critics United saying it was in violation of the rules to put challenges up. I've moved it onto my profile if anyone want to try it, all I ask is that you let me know so I can check it out.**

**That's enough from me time to get one to the One-Shot. (Well technically Two-Shot)**

Greatest Moment Of His Life

This was it, this was the thing he'd been striving for all his life. Starting out on his journey as a stupid ten year old, who should've known more, that charged into the unknown headfirst with a grin on his face and a Pokémon that wouldn't listen to him. That was 18 years ago, he'd battled his way through numerous regions and even more defeats, he'd met nearly every Legendary Pokémon in existence, he'd found a family in his friends and his Pokémon, he'd found May, a girl he loved and who loved him back. She'd happily agreed to be his girlfriend, once he'd built up the nerve to ask her. Ash had lead a blessed life and all of that had come to what had to be one of the greatest moments of his life.

All that time, all the memories that came with it and all the training had all come to one point. He'd made it, he was finally within reach of his goal. It was so close he could almost touch it, he'd been in this battle for hours but that was to be expected as he was fighting for the title of Pokémon Master. He was down to his last Pokémon and so was his opponent. Ash had tunnel vision now, he couldn't see his friends and family in the crowd, he didn't hear the cheers of the audience, the cameras recording the battle and beaming it out across all the Regions didn't exist, he even forgot that his girlfriend was sat on a bench close to the referee. The referee's Alakazam was using Protect to cover both the referee and May from the destruction that happened as a side effect of the battle. One of the many rules that accompanied a Pokémon Master Title battle states that both the current Pokémon Master and the Challenger are allowed to have one person on the field to support them if they wanted. Ash had obviously asked May to be there while on the side of the current Pokémon Master there was no-one.

Stood on the opposite side of the battlefield to Ash was the current Pokémon Master, this was the first time he'd come down from Mount Silver since gaining his title. No-one had dared to challenge him after his crushing victory over his predecessor who had been beaten 2 – 6. The name of the current Pokémon Master was a mystery to everyone, his real name was known only to a few people and to the rest of the world he was only known simply as Red. The current Pokémon Master stood watching the battle with an impassive face, silently commanding his Charizard as he had with all his other Pokémon. The other Pokémon he'd used in the battle were Blastiose, Venusaur, Pikachu, Snorlax and Espeon. Ash's Pokémon had fought hard against them, the raven-haired trainer briefly cast his thoughts to the Pokémon that were now resting in their Pokéballs having been knocked out just like Red's. Sceptile, Krookodile, Charizard, Greninja and Garchomp, Ash couldn't thank them enough for what they'd accomplished for him, they had fought harder then he'd ever seen them do before and he couldn't be more proud. This last battle was between Red's Charizard and Ash's Pikachu, they were going to end this journey the same way they'd started it, together.

The whole battle had been raging for over three hours and unlike normal League battles there hadn't been a break once one trainer had lost three Pokémon. The ways in which Ash and Red battled couldn't be anymore different, Red had been rooted to the same spot the entire time in silence the only movement he had made since entering the Trainer's Box was a shift in his weight every so often and at one point he tilted his head to the side narrowly avoiding an errant Stone Edge. Ash on the other hand was constantly moving and shouting, his arms flailed wildly as he called out attacks and dodges, at some point in the battle Ash had shrugged off his jacket and his hat had fallen off as he dove out of the way of an Ice Beam. The battlefield was a complete mess, craters littered the ground, remains of attacks were scattered about the place, there were patches of ice, water and fire haphazardly covering the field making it hard to move about. This wasn't a problem for Red's Charizard though as he soared through the air, Red had thought this battle wouldn't last long and was still struggling to believe that he was down to his last Pokémon. People had trekked up Mount Silver to challenge him and whichever Pokémon he'd chosen didn't even break a sweat as they tore through entire teams of Pokémon, yes, people had attempted to defeat him in the past but this was the first official challenge he'd had since his reign started.

Red trusted his Pokémon to use the right moves at the right times and turned his eyes away from the battle and looked at his opponent, it was then that something struck him. Ash was acting the same way he himself had when he himself had first started his journey, Red then noticed something Ash's Pikachu had the same burning desire in his eyes as his trainer. This was it for them, they were holding nothing back and it showed, the current battle had lasted well over half an hour and even though Pikachu had been moving the entire time he'd hardly slowed down though his dodges were getting sloppy and barely getting him out of the way in time. Despite this Pikachu was still constantly launching counter attacks at Charizard whenever he had the chance not waiting for Ash to call them out. It was easy for Red to see that they were perfectly in sync, if needed they could battle the same way that Red did, directing entire battles by mere eye movement and the odd hand gesture. Red finally turned his gaze to May, who was up on her feet cheering loud enough to be heard over the roar of the crowd. She was screaming to her love, yelling her encouragement and letting his know how much she was supporting him, how much she wanted him to win.

A rare smile slowly crossed Red's lips, his mouth twitching at the almost forgotten gesture, he took his hand out of his pockets and pushed up the peak of his cap. Red cleared his throat and silence filled the stadium, both Red and Ash were wearing microphones so the people watching both there and at home in the other Regions could hear what they said. Clearing his throat was the first sound that Red had made since he'd walked into the Stadium.

"Ash," Red said, his voice deep and a little strained from lack of use. He cleared his throat again. "Ash, you've surprised me." This time Red's voice was clear and strong. "I never thought anyone would be able to battle me at this level. It's a true privilege to battle someone like you, someone who is the same as I used to be. Before we finish the battle I want to give you some advice I wish someone had given me. Don't abandon the people you love to get stronger, draw your strength from them. I went away to train and look what happened to me, I'm alone. No friends or family to speak of except for my Pokémon. Thank you Ash, you, your Pokémon and the woman you love have reminded me how my life was at one point before I became obsessed by strength. Remember my words and hear my voice in battle for the last time. Charizard, Flamethrower!" He shouted, throwing his hat to the ground and tearing off his jacket, Red knew how this battle was going to end but he wasn't going to let it end just yet. He wanted to experience battle once more like he used to, like Ash was right now.

Hearing Red call out an attack shook Ash, Pikachu and even Red's own Charizard out of their states of shock, Charizard blasted a torrent of flames at Pikachu making the electric type dodge out of the way. Ash turned his attention back to the battle not looking at his opponent anymore, not noticing the same excited, toothy grin on Red's face as he had on his own. The battle had now reached an even higher level then anyone would've thought possible as both trainers and their Pokémon fought with ever fibre of their being. The crowd quickly started cheering again, leaving May and a few other looking at Red, May could see a number of similarities between Red and Ash now that Red had let loose. They had the same hair, same grin, even the same flame burning in their eyes, she would've sworn that Ash and Red were related if it wasn't for the fact that Delia had told Ash that his father had died when once Ash reached 18. Delia had kept it a secret until she thought it was time to tell him, having Ash believe that his father was travelling the world without contacting them hurt but she couldn't bring herself to break the news until Ash had finally asked for the truth.

The others who had stayed looking at Red were Professor Oak, who still remembered the first time he'd met Red accusing him of being a thief and Lance who could still feel the excitement of his battle against Red many years ago. There were two others who watched Red with disbelieving eyes, they'd been up and down Mount Silver numerous times since Red had made his home at the peak and hadn't been able to get a single word out of their friend, yet this trainer had been able to reignite the fire in Red and restore him to his former self. They watched their childhood friend quickly changing back to the way he used to be, back to the person they had been friends with. Those were the new Gym Leader of Viridian City and his wife.

"He's back Leaf, he's really back." Said a man with spiky brown hair as he put his arm around the shoulders of his wife.

"We need to get to him after the battle, come on Blue." The woman said, sprinting away with her long silky brown hair trailing behind her. The man sighed but still ran after her, a smile forming on his face.

There was still one person who had tears in her eyes as she watched Red and Ash battle. Delia had thought the man she had fallen in love with and had a child with had died, lost under an icy exterior like the mountain he called home. She had never told anyone who Ash's father really was, she wanted him to have a normal childhood and not get terrorised by journalists his entire life, she thought that her husband had been lost forever so with a heavy heart she'd told Ash what she herself believed, that he was dead. Professor Oak saw that Delia was crying and asked her what was wrong, she told him and asked that he keep it a secret until she had told Ash. The Professor nodded as he processed the information he had been given, he pulled out his phone and quickly typed a message sending it. He then told Delia that he'd sent the message to May telling her to keep Red on the field for as long as she could so Delia would have a chance to get to the tunnel Red would walk through to leave the field. Delia nodded and stood up followed by the Professor who said the only way she was going to get there was with his authority due to his position as a member of the League Board. Seeing them stand Brock and Misty asked where they were going, Delia had already started walking away so the Professor just said they were going to get some air.

"Pikachu, get underneath Charizard." Ash shouted, trusting his friend completely Pikachu did as he was asked thinking he knew what Ash's last move would be.

"That was a stupid mistake Ash. Charizard time to finish this battle, Flare Blitz!" Red called out, Charizard was enveloped by white hot flames as dove down at Pikachu. It was then that Red realised he'd been pulled into a trap as he saw the grin on Ash's face.

"COUNTER-SHIELD!" Ash shouted loud enough to be heard over the crowd and Charizard's roar. Pikachu flipped over instantly and pushed himself into a spin with his tail as he unleashed everything he had left. His usual yellow electricity was now a bright white, just like lightning. Charizard didn't get a chance to break his attack and dodge, the Flame Pokémon was thrown back and forth between the arcing streams of electricity taking damage from both them and the recoil of Flare Blitz.

Red could do nothing except watch as his Pokémon ricocheted around in the vortex of electricity until eventually he was sent flying out of the Counter-Shield and crashed into the ground adding yet another crater to the field. The dust kicked up from Charizard's landing covered the battlefield and obscured the two Pokémon from sight, slowly the dust began to clear and Pikachu could be seen panting after putting all his energy into that final attack. The dust slowly dispersed thanks to a gentle breeze that flowed through the air, that breeze was the only sound in the entire stadium apart from the low pants of Pikachu.

"No way." Ash whispered under his breath as he saw Red's Charizard standing in the crater he'd just created as the dust cleared. The fire and flying type looked into Pikachu's eyes and gave a low rumble of respect along with a nod to electric type, telling Pikachu he was a worthy opponent. A few second passed as the two Pokémon stared at each other, eventually Pikachu nodded back to Charizard. The larger Pokémon smirked and let out one final roar, louder then any he'd done before and fell forward on to the ground.

There was a stunned silence in the stadium as everyone tried to process what they had just seen, no-one could believe it.

The Pokémon Master had been defeated.

A lone cheer sounded out, crystal clear in the silence. It was May as she ran out onto the field, even before the referee had announced the obvious result, to congratulate her boyfriend.

"Red's Charizard is unable to battle, Pikachu wins. With no Pokémon left the winner of the match is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" The referee said, May's cheer having snapped him out of his astonished daze. The crowd erupted in cheers so loud they must've shaken the foundations of the stadium.

Nothing was registering with Ash until he was knocked to the ground by May, Pikachu was in a similar state but soon snapped out of it when one of May's Pokéballs burst open and Glaceon dove into his side. Both trainer and Pokémon then realised what they had accomplished, they'd reached their dream, they were Pokémon Masters. The other Pokémon that Ash had used in the battle must've sensed what had happened and released themselves from their Pokéballs, they were battered, bruised and tired beyond belief but still found the energy to celebrate.

Red slowly walked across the field and knelt next to his Charizard, Red gave the Flame Pokémon a gentle smile and rubbed his snout.

"I'm proud of you, you fought well. Time for you to take a rest old friend." Red said kindly as he pulled out Charizard's Pokéball, returning the fire and flying type in a burst of red pixels. Red got to his feet and watched the new Pokémon Master as he spun his girlfriend around in circles, a massive grin on both of their faces and the love they shared clearly visible. Red couldn't stop himself from smiling at the sight and turned to leave.

"Red, wait." Ash called out, Red looked over his shoulder as Ash jogged towards him. "That was the greatest battle I've ever had. Thank you." Ash held his hand out in front of him, Red looked at it and turned to face Ash.

"Same for me." Red replied and took Ash's hand shaking it. "Remember what I said, stay with the people you love. I didn't and it turned me into an emotionless man who only thought about getting stronger. I'm proud to have met you." Red pulled off his microphone and indicated for Ash to do the same. "There's something I need to tell you in private, will you come to my locker room in a few minutes?" Ash nodded. "I'll see you then." Red turned and started to walk away again leaving Ash wondering what Red wanted to tell him. Ash was brought out of his thought when Pikachu pulled on the leg of his pants, looking down Ash saw that Pikachu had brought over his jacket and hat. Ash knelt down taking them from the tired electric type, he put his hat on, took something from his jacket pocket before standing back up and putting it back on. Ash clipped his microphone back in place and turned to face May, he cleared his throat.

"Excuse me," The cheering of the crowd quickly died down as Ash started to speak. "There's something I need to say, but I need everyone to be quiet while I say it." Ash waited a couple of seconds to make sure no-one was speaking. "Thank you." Ash took a deep breath and looked into May's eyes.

"May, since we met in Hoenn I knew that there was something special about you but I could never figure out what it was. It took me a while to work it out and I'm sorry it took so long. You are my guiding light, since I met you I've become a stronger person, as a trainer and as a man. I've loved you since I first laid my eyes on you but I was too stupid to realise it, I'm sorry for that too. You've been there for some of the greatest moment of my life, meeting you, beating the Battle Frontier, competing in the Wallace Cup, meeting new friends both in people and Pokémon, and of course you agreeing to be the girlfriend of an idiot like me. I remember meeting two trainers who thought we were a couple and I remember how we reacted." Ash laughed at the memory. "What I mean to say it since I met you my life has gotten better and I believe I have been blessed by knowing you." Ash lowered himself onto one knee and held out the object he'd taken from his jacket pocket, it was a small blue velvet box. "I thought that becoming a Pokémon Master would be the greatest moment of my life, turns out I was wrong. It was meeting you, May Sapphire Maple, Top Co-Ordinator and holder of my heart, will you marry me?" Ash opened the box and revelled a gold ring with 6 small diamonds surrounding a sapphire, on the inside of the ring said 'To my guiding light' and there was a small engraving of Manaphy on the sapphire.

Silence once again reigned in the stadium as everyone waited to see what May's answer would be, even Red had stopped and turned to watch the scene play out. Delia and Professor Oak both walked to the end of the tunnel, standing at the edge of the field along with Blue and Leaf. All of Ash's friends just stared at the raven haired trainer as he knelt in front of his girlfriend, ring in hand and thousands, if not millions, of people waiting for the brunette's reply.

May's mind had frozen as soon as Ash had stopped speaking, she knew her answer, she'd always known what she would say if he asked her but she couldn't get her mouth to work. A chill against her leg snapped her out of her stupor, she was familiar with the chill as it belonged to her Glaceon. May nodded as a smile started to grow on her face, her head soon picking up speed as she nodded more and more. Tears of joy cascaded from her shining blue eyes, as she finally got her greatest wish. May launched herself at Ash, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face into his shoulder after screaming out the one word everyone was waiting for.

"YES!"

The stadium was once more filled with the cries of the crowd, Ash's friends were cheering the loudest and were up on their feet applauding. They were soon joined by the rest of the people in the stadium, every last person was standing and screaming out their congratulations. May pulled back from her hug and Ash slipped ring onto May's finger and was nearly knocked over by the powerful kiss that May gave him. Ash's Pokémon watched their trainer in happiness, Pikachu nodded to them and even though they were exhausted, they dug deep and used the energy they had left to send some attacks into the air creating a small firework display.

As Ash and May separated from the kiss they looked into each other eyes.

"I love you." Ash said.

"I love you too." May replied hugging Ash again. "I'll show you how much I love you tonight." She whispered seductively into his ear, making Ash jerk in surprise and excitement. Luckily Ash's microphone didn't pick up May's whisper.

**And that's the end of part one.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Originally I wasn't going to give Red such a big part, it just kind of happened. I thought it would be better to split the two parts up then leave them together.**

A Family Reunited

Red smiled at the scene and turned to walk back to the tunnel so he could get out of the stadium before the press remembered he was there but he stopped when he saw the people from his past waiting for him. He locked eyes with one person in particular, he started moving towards that person with slow steps that soon increased in pace until he was running. He took Delia into his arms and spun her around before pulling her in close and whispering into her ear.

"I'm sorry."

The years of anger and frustration that Delia had felt temporarily faded away as the feeling of being in her husband's arms took her back to a happier time. Professor Oak walked onto the field to announce Ash as the new Pokémon Master while Blue and Leaf took a few steps away to let the married couple have some time together.

Red and Delia stared at each other for what must've been a few minutes but felt like days to them until they heard Ash's voice.

"Mom? What's going on?"

Delia pulled herself out of Red's arms and went up to Ash and May hugging both of them. She kissed Ash's cheek lightly before speaking to him.

"You've found him, I knew you would." Ash was confused but May realised what Delia meant.

"What do you mean?"

"Ash, this is something I should've told you years ago. Your father didn't die, he was lost but today you found him again." Delia gently took Ash's arm and pulled him towards Red. "Ash, this is Richard Edward Daniel Ketchum. Your father." Ash stood just staring at his mother and Red, he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Wh…Wh…" Ash couldn't even form the simplest of questions as he struggled to wrap his brain around this new information.

"You're mother's right Ash." Red said, "I am your father but I haven't earned the right for you to call me that. I've never been there for you, at some point during my training I lost touch with my emotions. It may have been because I was travelling alone in the places people never go, the places where danger is constant. I'd forgotten who I was, who I was supposed to be as a man, a husband and a father. I don't expect you to like me, forgive me or call me Dad but I would like to get to know you and the people you care about. The way you battled out there today, it reminded me of how I used to me before I became that emotionless monster." Red looked away and made a tight fist, his nails digging into the palm of his hand through his fingerless gloves. "It's because of you that I want to redeem myself in your eyes and your mother's. Like I said I haven't earned the right to be called Dad or be loved by your mother. I'll do whatever you want me to do to be part of the family you have, no matter how demeaning or humiliating in might be I'll do it."

"You idiot." Delia said with tears glistening in the corners of her amber eyes, she stepped forward and put her arms around Red's neck placing her chin on his shoulder. "All you need to do is come home." Red returned the hug, a lone tear sliding down his cheek. "But there will be a price to pay when we get there." Delia whispered in his ear, making Red break out in a cold sweat. Professor Oak stepped forward and held out his hand, Red took it and smiled.

"It's good to see you again Richard." The Pokémon Researcher said with a kind smile.

"Good to see you too Professor, Saur missed you." Red replied. Blue and Leaf stepped forward next as Delia pulled out of the hug but stayed close to Red. "Blue."

"Red." Blue replied, they stood staring at each other for a few seconds before grinning and pulled each other into a manly hug. "Glad to have you back."

"Good to be back." Blue moved back and let Leaf step up next. Red braced himself for what was about to happen. A resounding crack echoed in the tunnel as Leaf slapped Red across the face. "Okay, I know I deserve that but OW! Did you have to hit me that hard?" Red said gently rubbing his reddening cheek. Leaf then jumped at Red enveloping him in a near bone-crushing hug, as she started to cry into his shoulder. Red gently rubbed her back as he returned the hug. "I missed you too." He said, after a few minutes Blue managed to prise Leaf off of Red. Ash was still frozen trying to cope with the revelation, Red looked at May and could see what she wanted to do. "Miss Maple, I can see that you want to hit me so feel free but please don't hit the same cheek that Leaf did."

May just looked at Red controlling her emotions for the moment, she stepped forward but didn't raise her hand.

"Mr Ketchum, I'm not going to hit you even though I really want to for what you've put Ash and Delia through. It's nice to finally meet you but I'm going to wait and see what Ash is going to say before I make any decisions." May stepped back again and turned to face Ash, ignoring the people around her she placed a gentle loving kiss on Ash's lips. This simple act was enough to bring Ash out of this maelstrom of emotions and back to the scene in front of him. "Ash, are you okay?" May asked, stroking his cheek.

"Yeah, I'm okay. It's just a lot to take in." Ash looked at Red and walked up to him. "I take it this is what you wanted to talk to me about?" Red nodded, Ash waited a few seconds before asking his next question. "Did you know? Did you know I was your son when I challenged you?" Ash asked, this was a question no-one else had thought about.

"I thought you might've been but I wasn't sure. A part of me hoped you were, the way I was thought that if you were then I would finally have a challenge." Red chuckled a little. "It was right you definitely were a challenge. If you're thinking I didn't fight at full strength because we're related you're wrong, I gave everything I had in that battle and so did my Pokémon. You just had more to give." Red sighed, "I don't like repeating myself but I'll say it again, I don't expect forgiveness from you or for you to call me Dad but I would like to get to know you and try to earn the right to call you my son." Ash was quiet for a few minute letting the tension hang in the air as he thought about how to respond.

Slowly Ash raised his hand, holding it out for Red to take.

"I'm not too good with words, what I just said to May took me months to work out. Help me train and we'll go from there." Red just looked at Ash, was it really going to be that easy? He took Ash's hand and shook it.

"You are your mother's son." Red said.

"With his father's looks and battling ability." Delia added putting her hand onto of Ash's and Red's, connecting the family for the first time in 25 years.

"I hate to ruin the moment but Ash you need to go to the press conference." Professor Oak said. Ash looked at the Professor then back to Red, the former Pokémon Master recognised the shine in Ash's eyes and grinned. _Well he is my son_ Red thought as he put an arm around Delia's waist as Ash did the same to May.

"Professor, tell the others that we'll see them in at the party." Ash said as both he and Red sent out their Charizards. "You good for one last flight?" Ash asked, getting a snort of acknowledgement from both Pokémon. Pikachu and Glaceon jumped onto their trainers and the family climbed onto the fire and flying types. "Let's go home." Both Charizard roared and flew out of the tunnel, Red leant over the side of his Charizard as Delia hung onto his waist snatching up his hat and jacket as they flew past. The two fire and flying Pokémon circled once as they got into the open air before heading away from the stadium and towards the place where it all started. Pallet Town.

Professor Oak watched as they disappeared into the distance, he turned and walked towards the room where the press were waiting thinking about what he was going to say to them. He shook his head and chuckled to himself remembering what happened when Red became the Pokémon Master.

"Like father, like son." He said quietly.

**That's all I've got for now, I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can.**

**Until Next Time**

**Basic Trainer**


End file.
